Can-opener.



G. W. HINKLEY, .In. & C. J. STAIB.

CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2. 19M.

Patented July 27', 915.

' ATTORNEY GEORGE W. HINKLEY, JR., OF DANBURY, AND CLIFFORD J. STAIB, F BETHEL,

CONNECTICUT,

CAN-OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

l?atented July 2'7, i915.

Application filed November 2, 1914. Serial No. 869,755.

' taurants and hotels, and by painters or workers in any art where it is required to open a large number of cans of different sizes, our present invention being adapted to cans of all sizes, within reasonable limits, and being easily and quickly adjusted to hold any can firmly and to cut out the cover or to cut a hole of any desired size therein, leaving a small portion of the cut out part still connected to serve as a hinge, if rcuired.

With these and other objects inview, we have devised the novel can opener which we will now describe, referring to the ac-' companying drawing forming a part of this specification, and using reference characters to indicate the several parts:

Figure 1 is an elevation partly broken away illustrating our novel can opener as in use, and Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view illustrating means for locking the cutter in operative position.

10 denotes the body, which comprises a lower horizontal arm 11" carrying a screw clamp 11 by which the body may be attached to a table, shelf orany fixed part, an upper horizontal arm 12 and a vertical arm 13. The can to be operated upon is placed upon a carrying plate 14- which may be cast inte gral with or rigidly secured to a head 15 on the horizontal arm. The head, below the carrying plate, is provided with a hole lying in the horizontal plane in which a right and left threaded screw 16 lies without engagement, the screw being retained centrally in the head by collars 17 which are pinned to the screw and engage opposite ends of the head, thus permitting the screw to be rotated freely but retaining it against endwise movement.

1S denotes locking jaws which pass through slots 19 in the carrying plate and extend a sufficient distance above it to grip 'oppositesides of the base of a can firmly and are provided at their lower ends with threaded hubs 20 which are engaged re spectively by the right and left threads of the screw. A crank 21 is attached to the screw for convenience in operation. Rotation of the screw by means of the crank will move the lockingjaws toward or from each other to grip or release the base of a can.

The vertical arm is provided with a longitudinal hole extending froin the upper end downward in which arod 22 is adapted to slide. The rod is shown as provided with a groove 23 which is engaged by the point of a thumb screw 2% in the vertical arm to lock the rod at any required vertical adjustment and also to lock it against rotation. Rod 22 carries at its upper end an arm 25 having at its outer end a vertical hole to receive the shank 26 of a rotating carrying block 27 having a transverse hole through it in which a cutter carrying arm 28 is adapted to slide. Thehole and cutter carrying arm are made angular in order to prevent rotation of thejarm. shank is reduced and threaded to receive a nut 29 which retains the carrying block and cutter carrying arm in place but permits free rotation of .theblock in swinging the cutter carrying arm around, as will be more fully explained. The lower end of'sliank 26 is provided with a prong 30 which is in alinement with the center of the carrying plate and is' adapted to pierce the center of a can cover to coiiperatewith the locking jaws in retaining a can to be operated upon perfectly rigid. At the outer end of the cutter carrying arm is a hole to receive a vertical sheath 31 which is rigidly locked in place by a pin 32 engaging a hole drilled both in the sheath and in the arm.

33 denotes the cutter which is provided with a shank extending through the sheath longitudinally and having at its upper end a hand piece 34: provided in its under side with a recess 35 which is adapted to receive the upper end of the sheath. A spring 36 lying between the upper end of the sheath and the base of the recessnormally acts to retain the cutter in a raised position in which the cutter is wholly received within the sheath. Should it be required to lock the cutter in the operative position as in Fig. 2, this may be done by means of a thumb screw 37 in the cutter carrying arm,

which passes through the sheath and is adaptedtoengagethe shank of the cutter. The cutter carrying arm is locked at therequired adjustment in the carrying block by means of a thumb screw 38 in the block;

This adjustment determines the size of the holecutin a can cover; I w

The operation is as follows; The implement is locked in place by means of the screw clamp, the can to be operated upon is placed upon the carrying plate and the'locking jawsare then, adjusted to secure it in place. Bod 22"isthenjlowerecl to place the prong in engagement witlrthecenter of the can cover, prong beingpressed into the cover suliici'entl'y to hold" theupper end of thecan perfectly rigid. The parts may be locked in this position if required by tightening up thumb screw 24:, The operator then adjfi'ists' the cutter carrying arm to cut afhole of the required size in the can cover and locks the in position by tightening up thumbiscrew 88. The" operator then presses down upoiil hand piece 345 and forces the" cutter throughithe an co'ver. The cutter may be locked in this position by tightening up thumb screw 37 or may simply be held downby pressure upon theha'nd piece while the operator sw ngs the cuttercarryln'g arm around and: cuts out the can cover or a hole oral y required size therein; The cut is usually startedQwit h-the' sheath in contact in wi l 9-, i ..-J. i. v, i wlth ne slde of, arm 20, as n F g. 1, and the cutter carrying arm i's swung around until the sheath comes into engagement with the other eat r 25," leaving the cut out piecesti'll connected tdthe can, The instant pressure upon thehand'p'iece is relieved the spring will draw the, cutter up into the sheath', as in F 1 The rod and arm are then raised to disengage the prong from v the can cover and'thlebas'e of the can is reljeased'by rotation fot' the screw. will be obvious that the operation or" opening ca'ns maybe performed'very quickly, the operation upon each canv requiring but a few seconds;

- 7 Pla ing thus described our invention we 1 claim -1..In an of the character described, asuitfably supported arm provided of this fiate ntina y he obtained" for near its end with a substantially vertical opening, a carrying block having a shank rotatable within the opening and provided 'in' its lower portion with a recess receiving the upper end of the sheath, and a coil spring surrounding the upper end of the shank of the cutter and arranged wholly within the recess of the hand piece, substantially as des'rib'edi 2. u an implement oi the character described, the combination with a suitably supported movable cutter carrying arm provided near its end with a substantially vertical opening, a substantially vertical sheath arranged within the substantially vertical opening and clamped therein, a cutter mounted to" reciprocate within the sheath and adapted to" extend downwardly therebeyond and having a shank extending upwardly beyond the sheath, a hand piece attached to the upper end of the shank of the cutter and provided in its lower portion with a recess receiving the upper end of the sheath, a coil spring surrounding the upper end of theshank of the cutter and arranged wholly within the recess of the hand piece, and a clamping screw engagii'ig the sheath V and' adapted to engage with the shank of the cutt'er to lock the cutter in the outer position, substantially as described. I In testimony whereof we aiiix our signatures in-presence' of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. HINKLEY, JR. i CLIFFORD J. STAIB.

Witnesses a JOHN V. STAIB, EDWARD A. STAIB.

fi 'r e cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

